Leafs @ Sabres - Mar. 15th, 7:00pm - TSN4, Fan 590

[CarltonTheBear]

@
41-22-7, 89 points | 22-35-12, 56 points

Projected Lines

Marleau-Nylander-Hyman Komarov-Kadri-Marner JVR-Bozak-Brown Johnsson-Plekanec-Kapanen Rielly-Hainsey Gardiner-Polak Dermott-Carrick McElhinney

Wilson-O'Reilly-Reinhart Pouliot-Larsson-Pominville Girgensons-Rodrigues-Baptiste Nolan-Josefson-Bailey Scandella-Ristolainen Guhle-Nelson Beaulieu-Antipin Lehner

Scratches

Nikita Zaitsev Dominic Moore Josh Leivo Matt Martin

Seth Griffith Justin Falk Josh Gorges

Game Notes

TOR
•McElhinney (8-4-1, 2.27 GAA, .929 Sv%) will likely start for the Leafs
•The big concern right now is obviously regarding Andersen's health. Kristen Shilton reported that Sparks will likely be called up to back-up McBackup tonight
•The lines listed are what we saw in the 3rd period of last nights game. It's anyone's guess as to if those will stick or not
•Connor Carrick did not see the ice after his giveaway in the 3rd period, so I'm still awaiting confirmation that Babcock has not rolled him into a carpet and thrown him into Lake Ontario

BUF
•Lehner (14-24-9, 2.91 GAA, .911 Sv%) will likely start for the Sabres
•Jack Eichel has been skating hard at practice this week and even took part in some PP sessions the other day, which led some to believe that he might be ready to return for tonight's game. Housely did confirm yesterday though that he will not play against the Leafs

Injuries

•Nathan Horton - Back - Out indefinitely •Joffrey Lupul - Actually Injured - Out indefinitely •Auston Matthews - Shoulder - Injured Reserve •Nikita Zaitsev - Flu - Questionable Thursday •Frederik Andersen - Upper Body - Questionable Thursday

•Seth Griffith - Upper Body - Questionable Thursday •Evan Rodrigues - Upper Body - Questionable Thursday •Kyle Okposo - Concussion - Injured Reserve •Kyle Criscuolo - Shoulder - Injured Reserve •Jack Eichel - Ankle - Injured Reserve •Jake McCabe - Shoulder - Injured Reserve •Zach Bogosian - Hip - Injured Reserve

Stream Options

https://www.reddit.com/r/NHLstreams

[herman]

The Leafs only played two periods last night, so they should still have enough gas to make a go of this.

We were chasing the game a lot after the second, so between that and getting cut in the first, Johnsson didn't get that much time to show what he could do. What he did do was consistently play in position to support the engagement on defense and support or carry the play on offense.

[Bullfrog]

I'm hoping Johnsson and Kapanen get 10+ minutes tonight. I though Johnsson looked great in his debut.

[CarltonTheBear]

What impressed me the most about Johnsson is that for a small guy he was great along the boards. Never gave up on a battle. Obviously tough to tell if he can do that over an 82-game season but it's still a good attribute to have.

[Zee]

I was looking forward to seeing if Johnsson would get some time on the 2nd PP unit last night, but then the Leafs only had 1 PP and scored on it so he didn't get a sniff.  Hopefully he gets more of a chance tonight in some offensive situations to see if he can finish at the NHL level.

[Coco-puffs]

•Connor Carrick did not see the ice after his giveaway in the 3rd period, so I'm still awaiting confirmation that Babcock has not rolled him into a carpet and thrown him into Lake Ontario

LMAO!

[CarltonTheBear]

Uhhh, don't shoot the messenger guys...

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/974311792783618050

[leafsjunkie]

Uhhh, don't shoot the messenger guys...

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/974311792783618050

I just heard this on the radio... Seriously, this pisses me off.

[L K]

Uhhh, don't shoot the messenger guys...

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/974311792783618050

To be fair, I think Martin had a good game before he got pulled out of the lineup but Babcock's bull#$#% excuses about "earn your spot" have consistently been garbage.

[Highlander]

Not to happy to hear  this.

[CarltonTheBear]

To be fair, I think Martin had a good game before he got pulled out of the lineup but Babcock's bull#$#% excuses about "earn your spot" have consistently been garbage.

I wouldn't care if it was Leivo that Martin was replacing, but Johnsson NEEDS the NHL experience. And Babcock needs to get looks at him. And this is a perfect time for that to happen with Matthews out and a roster spot open. Giving Martin a game here just to raise his spirits or whatever isn't more important than that.

[herman]

https://www.mapleleafshotstove.com/2018/03/15/mike-babcock-post-game-leafs-6-vs-stars-5-ot/

On Andreas Johnsson's debut:

He didn't get as much opportunity because we got chasing the game. I don't have a good evaluation, to be honest, just because of the way the game went. When you're behind... When I'm ahead and managing the game, I play everybody and everyone plays lots. When you're chasing the game, I'm just playing who I've got to play.

Lol.

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

I don't have any problem with Martin going in, but yeah like CTB sez it should be for Leivo.  This is a perfect time to assess Johnsson.

What I do have a problem with is getting our asses kicked all the time in Buffalo.  To quote a famous minor hockey coach, that's not coincidence, that's horse____.

[herman]

What I do have a problem with is getting our asses kicked all the time in Buffalo.  To quote a famous minor hockey coach, that's not coincidence, that's horse____.

We lost last time, but it certainly wasn't as characterized above. The numerous fluke goals distort the picture of the Leafs generally controlling play (when O'Rielly wasn't on).

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

What I do have a problem with is getting our asses kicked all the time in Buffalo.  To quote a famous minor hockey coach, that's not coincidence, that's horse____.

We lost last time, but it certainly wasn't as characterized above. The numerous fluke goals distort the picture of the Leafs generally controlling play (when O'Rielly wasn't on).

It was a fluke-filled ass-whooping, and there's an end on't.